NCAA Tournament: UCLA knocked out by Villanova

March 21, 2009

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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UCLA's Alfred Aboya, left, James Keefe, Josh Shipp (3) and Darren Collison, right, watch from the bench as the Bruins finish out their loss to Villanova, 89-69, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. CAROLYN KASTER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

UCLA's Alfred Aboya, left, James Keefe, Josh Shipp (3) and Darren Collison, right, watch from the bench as the Bruins finish out their loss to Villanova, 89-69, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. CAROLYN KASTER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA - UCLA spent some time Friday discussing how tough it would be to beat Villanova in a building where it plays a handful of home games every year.

After Saturday's 89-69 Villanova blowout in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Wachovia Center didn't really look like the problem.

Villanova shoved the Bruins around, snatched rebounds all around them and dashed around the lane for a couple of hours. After awhile, UCLA hardly remembered where it was.

The Bruins probably could not have beaten this team at Pauley Pavilion, on the surface of the moon or 30 feet underwater.

They could not beat them in a box.

They could not beat them with a fox.

They could not beat them in a house.

They could not beat them with a mouse.

Not even UCLA coach Ben Howland or senior guard Darren Collison felt like blaming the arena or its 19,894 intermittently loud fans after Saturday's fleecing in Philly. The loss left UCLA three victories short of its fourth consecutive Final Four.

“Obviously, it was harder when they're playing on a court they're familiar with, but yeah, they were great today,” Howland said. “I'm not sure the way we played today and the way they played, it would have made a difference where the game was played.”

Howland followed that up with a, “But we'll never know.”

To which most people who watched the game would reply, “But we're fairly certain.”

Villanova, the No. 3 seed in the East, led by 19 in the first half. It led by 25 for a stretch in the second half.

It pulled down 12 more rebounds, took 20 more shots (and made a higher percentage of them) and committed nine fewer turnovers.

It was the kind of beating that made all the hype about the Big East and all the dismissals of the Pac-10 this year look perfectly justified.

Forward Dante Cunningham did the most damage for Villanova, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, but he was just one of the strong bodies knocking the around the younger, skinnier Bruins.

By the end, UCLA's three seniors, Alfred Aboya, Josh Shipp and Collison — with a busted lip — were watching from the bench, staring vacantly.

“It's really tough going out this way,” Aboya said. “If you look at the score, you feel we didn't compete. You feel like they were way better than we were, but that's not the case.”

It was a freshman who might not be back next year who probably said it best.

“I felt like we battled with them, but we didn't do anything right today,” Jrue Holiday said. “We didn't board, we didn't block out, we didn't knock down our shots. We didn't play defense.”

In addition to Holiday's list, one could add that they didn't take care of the ball. Villanova scored 23 points off turnovers, 19 more than UCLA did.

Sixth-seeded UCLA (26-9) put itself in the awkward position of having to play a Big East power within 30 miles of its campus by failing to capture either the Pac-10 regular season or tournament titles.

Saturday's beating was the worst loss for UCLA in five years and the worst in the Tournament since a 24-point loss to Iowa State in 2000.

Other teams occasionally described UCLA as “physical” this year, but the Bruins looked frail compared with Villanova. Jostling with the Wildcats became even more difficult when Aboya picked up his third foul with 6:52 left in the first half. He fell for Antonio Pena's fake and landed on his back.

Villanova moves on to the Sweet 16 while UCLA moves into the offseason with a roster made up almost entirely of sophomores and freshmen. In retrospect, its No. 4 preseason ranking looks a bit inflated, if not criminally insane.

The seniors began getting hints that this team might be too young and flawed early in the season. Blending seniors and freshmen with only a smattering of juniors made for awkward chemistry at times.

“We're used to having older guys with us,” Shipp said. “At times, we should take the blame for that. We didn't lead as well as we should have. We should have led this team better.”

Shipp scored 18 points to lead the Bruins, at least on the court.

Collison's shaky history in the Tournament spilled into Saturday. He made 4 of 10 shots for 15 points, committed five turnovers and had just one assist. He spent part of his afternoon yelling at the officials.

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